A big breakfast is being cooked up to help demolition plans go with a bang.

Bangers are on the menu for hundreds of people living near the old Blyth Power Station, who are being taken out for breakfast by demolition chiefs so the remains of the plant can be blown up safely.

The giant fry-up is being organised for safety reasons to help clear the area in preparation for the massive explosion.

More than 400 people will have to leave 130 houses in Cambois, near the former power station, when the station's four huge chimneys, now all that is left of the huge plant, are blown up in December.

The London demolition firm, Brown & Mason, is looking for a venue to treat all the families to a slap-up breakfast.

Tony Tynan, of Brown & Mason, said: "I don't imagine there has ever been four chimneys of this size dropped at the same time anywhere in the United Kingdom.

"You had two power stations on the site which left a legacy of four chimneys and all my family are coming up to see them drop.

"The explosion will be on a Sunday and in the first two weeks of December.

"We will be taking people somewhere for breakfast and the explosion will take place at noon so as not to affect church services."

Bedlington Police Insp, Mick Lillico, is liaising with the firm, council, and health and safety officials over the event. Insp Lillico said: "There will be a large exclusion zone and somewhere will be earmarked to cater for residents. There'll be a lot of sausages frying.

"It is certainly the biggest explosion in this police area and there will be a lot of officers on duty. The perimeter will be huge. The operational support and marine units will also be involved."

David Craggs, 33, of Wilson Avenue, Cambois, said he and his wife, Michelle, 35, and children Shannon, eight, and Danielle, six, were looking forward to demolition day - despite having to move out. He said: "We've been waiting for it for a long time. When I moved in 14 years ago they were talking about pulling it down and I thought the house would be a good investment."

Two massive boiler houses and other structures at the plant have already been blown up in the demolition programme. A continuous process of demolition has been going on since closure.